1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cleaning device attachable to a chain saw for the purpose of cleaning chain saw cuts.
2. Description of the Related Art
The problem of keeping saw blades clean has received some attention in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 109,436 and 417,093 disclose brush attachments used for cleaning the teeth of band saws and circular saws respectively. In those cases the brushes contact the saw teeth directly and not the cut made by the saw teeth. The foregoing represents efforts to keep old fashioned, non-portable saws from becoming sawdust bound.
Over the last few decades, with the advent of the chain saw, the problem of keeping the saw clean has become more acute. There are basically two problems. The first problem is that saw dust clogs the chain saw motor and decreases the efficiency of the cutting teeth. The second, and more important problem, is that saw dust stuck in the chain saw cut will cause the chain to snag in the cut. On occasion, this can have serious, if not fatal, consequences. Insofar as can be determined, no serious effort has been made to attack this problem directly even though there have been several indirect attempts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,193 describes a guard for a chain saw which is intended to keep individuals from getting hurt if the chain should grab.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,007 describes a method for decreasing the saw dust problem. That method comprehends the use of two saw dust knock-out holes in the rear of the guide bar.
The concept of attachments for chain saws is known though not widely used. For example, it is known to use self lubricating devices in order to keep a chain saw oiled.
Lastly, efforts have been made to improve the structure of a chain saw in order to minimize the chance of saw dust clogging. See, in particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,829,971 and 4,530,679. In each case the prior art appears to attack the symptom of the problem rather than deal with the problem directly.